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Disarmament Conference
77. Mr. Wood : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what part his Department is playing in the Geneva conference on disarmament.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, South (Mr. Brandon-Bravo) on 1 March, Official Report, column 322.
Chemical Defence Establishment
80. Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual budget of the Chemical Defence Establishment.
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92. Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual budget of the Chemical Defence Establishment.Mr. Neubert : I refer the hon. Members to the answer that I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Mr. Buckley).
Civil Service Relocation
81. Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider further measures to reduce and transfer the number of civil servants employed in the various buildings of his Department in London.
Mr. Neubert : The overall number of MOD civilian employees in London has fallen by more than 11,000 since 1979. We are examining a number of proposals to transfer further work from London and announcements about these will be made in due course.
Royal Navy (New Ships)
83. Mr. Barry Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to order further ships for the Royal Navy.
Mr. Neubert : The Government will maintain the properly balanced maritime forces the Royal Navy needs to carry out its tasks. We have plans for sufficient orders to meet that commitment. For further information I refer my hon. Friend to the position that I described to the House in the Navy debate on 5 February, Official Report, columns 654-58.
Property Holdings
89. Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses are owned by his Department ; and how many are empty.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 30 November 1989, the number of married quarters in the United Kingdom was 76,068, of which 12,423 were vacant. As at 31 December 1989 1,790 civilian houses were owned, of which 223 were vacant.
RAF Molesworth
91. Mr. Terry Fields : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future role of RAF Molesworth.
110. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future role of RAF Molesworth.
125. Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future role of RAF Molesworth.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Members to the answer that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridgeshire, South-West (Sir A. Grant) on 11 January at columns 691-92.
YTS
94. Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many YTS members are currently serving in each of the three services.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 31 December 1989 a total of 262 trainees were serving in the armed services YTS, two with the Royal Navy and 260 with the Royal Air Force.
NATO Secretary General
95. Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the Secretary General of NATO ; and what matters were discussed.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend last met Dr. Woerner at the NATO defence planning committee ministerial meeting held on 28-29 November 1989. The communique issued after the meeting has been placed in the Library of the House.
99. Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to meet the Secretary General of NATO ; and what matters he intends to raise.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : My right hon. Friend regularly meets the Secretary General of NATO. Their next scheduled meeting is at the NATO nuclear planning group in early May when a range of defence issues will be discussed.
Disabled Ex-Service Men
96. Dr. Moonie : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has had about the level of payments for which his Department is responsible to ex-service men disabled during the course of their duties.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : A small number of letters have been received which refer to the level of pensions received by ex-service men who have disabilities attributable to their service.
Challenger Tank
97. Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the progress to date made by Vickers plc on the Challenger 2 prototype tank.
Mr. Alan Clark : As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) on 28 November, Official Report, column 575, Vickers Defence Systems has satisfactorily passed the first milestone in the Challenger 2 Mk 2 demonstration phase.
Armed Forces (Redundancies)
111. Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces he expects to be offered early redundancy in 1991.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There are no plans to make members of the armed forces redundant.
United States Forces
115. Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effects on local communities he anticipates will result from the United States proposals regarding United States forces in Britain.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The effect on local communities of changes in the deployment of United States forces in the United Kingdom is difficult to predict with any confidence, and will certainly vary widely from place to place.
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NATO Maritime Defence
119. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the Royal Navy plays in NATO's maritime defence.
122. Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the Royal Navy plays in NATO's maritime defence.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer my hon. Friends to paragraph 302 of volume 1 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1989.
Troops (Berlin)
Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to reduce the number of British troops stationed in Berlin ; what discussions he has had recently with representatives of the other countries (a) France, (b) the United States of America and (c) the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, about possible troop reductions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : British forces will continue to fulfil our responsibilities for the protection of Berlin in conjunction with those of other Allies and we have no plans at present to change the size of the Berlin garrison, which will remain in place for as long as it is needed. The future requirement for allied forces in Berlin is likely to be discussed in the talks which will begin shortly between the four powers and the two German states on external and security aspects of German unification.
Horseshoe Barracks, Shoeburyness
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his proposals for the future of the Horseshoe barracks in Shoeburyness.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : We are currently considering the options for disposing of Horseshoe barracks and reproviding facilities for which there is a continuing operational requirement, against the background of further advice from our planning consultants. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to my hon. Friend when this process is complete.
European Fighter Aircraft
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether agreement has been reached with the other participating Governments on the development of the European fighter aircraft ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Tom King : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I have given today to my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley (Mr. Cran).
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Lance Missiles
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Defence Ministers of the NATO countries about the stockpiling of follow-on to Lance missiles in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy towards the stockpiling of follow-on to Lance missiles in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Government fully support the Alliance's comprehensive concept of May 1989, in which it was agreed that a decision on the deployment of a replacement for the Lance missile system would not be taken until 1992.
Arms Reduction Verification
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure a sufficient supply of personnel trained in arms reduction verification.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The joint arms control implementation group (JACIG) has recently been established, and will begin forming in July. It will be the United Kingdom's arms control verification organisation. The primary role of the JACIG will be to conduct CFE (conventional forces in Europe) and Stockholm document outgoing inspections. It will additionally provide escorts and interpreters for the incoming Stockholm document, INF (intermediate nuclear forces) and CFE inspections into the United Kingdom.
Those personnel conducting the verification task will receive equipment recognition training, instruction in the treaty and its several protocols and, where appropriate, formal language training. Practice inspections will also be conducted to ensure that the JACIG staff reach and maintain the necessary national and allied inspection standards.
Defence Savings
Mr. Benn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has given any recent consideration to possible defence savings.
39. Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has given any recent consideration to possible defence savings.
86. Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has given any recent consideration to possible defence savings.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the right hon. Member and his hon. Friends to the answer given at column 596 on 6 February 1990 to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan).
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